Unto the Breach………Again!

Here’s a little history lesson you may all remember. Several years ago I wrote about the UIGEA Law ad nauseum. It involved the Safe Port Act of 2006 in which a tiny clause was inserted called the UIGEA Law prohibiting online gambling? I’m sure you all recall it caused quite a stir. Sites shut down or were forced to shut down by the DOJ, and it was quite literally – a mess. Because of the ambiguity of the law, it was repealed. End of this story.

Now, let’s go back a bit further. In 1961, the Wire Act was passed which stated that “Whoever being engaged in the business of betting or wagering knowingly uses a wire communication facility for the transmission in interstate or foreign commerce of bets or wagers or information assisting in the placing of bets or wagers on any sporting event or contest, or for the transmission of a wire communication which entitles the recipient to receive money or credit as a result of bets or wagers, or for information assisting in the placing of bets or wagers, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than two years, or both.”

The irony is that the Department of Justice deemed that this bill ONLY applied to sports. Well, guess what? A new bill has been introduced by a Republican congressman to try and reintroduce this bill with a twist, that is, impose a ban on all online gambling. This is the same bill that has Sheldon Adelson on board with his millions to back it up.
We have been here before and now we are here again. New Jersey, Delaware, and Nevada have already approved internet gambling, and there are up to a dozen more states considering the same. What’s going to happen is anyone’s guess. Remember, the Republicans hold the majority in both houses. However, this does not mean that those with big money will rule the roost again. And so, unto the breach we go……..again.